Liz Monteiro
A Kitchener public high school teacher says he supports a controversial suggestion for black-focused schools in Ontario.
Mark Seupersaud, a Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute history teacher, says the current school curriculum ignores the history of black people.
"We have segregation now," he said in an interview. "Our system is Eurocentric.
"Where can I see the accomplishments of my people in the curriculum?. We are in the footnotes.''
Last week, George Dei, a black educator in Toronto, said black students should be able to attend black-focused schools to ensure they succeed.
Dei, who is the chairman of equity in education for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, has done extensive study on schooling of black youth.
He said there aren't enough black teachers in the school system and the curriculum ignores black history.
A black-focused school would have more black teachers, guidance counsellors and social workers, a more Africa-centric curriculum and more open discussion of race.
Dei spoke at a standing-room only forum in Toronto. His comments drew loud applause from many.
But critics, including the former lieutenant-governor Lincoln Alexander, said racial schools would be a step back to segregation.
The Ontario government said it's not ruling out ethnically focused programs in schools but racially segregated schools aren't planned.
The idea has been around for at least 10 years, since Ontario's Royal Commission on Learning urged school boards to set up alternative racial schools to address lower marks and graduation rates among black students.
Amy Yamoah, 21, a Wilfrid Laurier University student with roots in Ghana, said she's glad such a controversial topic is being spoken about.
"Kudos to the discussion," the Waterloo woman said. "It's the approach that takes a step back."
Yamoah said a black-focused school would be reminiscent of the days of segregation in the U.S. South.
Seupersaud, who's been teaching for 21 years, used to teach black history at Cameron until the former Conservative government dropped it from the curriculum.
Growing up in Owen Sound, Seupersaud said, he was encouraged by his guidance counsellor to become a physical education teacher. He chose to study history and English instead.
As an adult, he's considered a black educator within the walls of Cameron, but outside the school, he doesn't get the same respect.
"I believe people are good, but organizations are bad,'' he said.
Papy Mukenge, a French teacher at St. Aloysius Catholic School in Kitchener, said he agrees with Dei's views but not with his approach.
"We can't separate black kids from white kids,'' the Congo-born Mukenge said.
Mukenge came to Canada six years ago and began teaching in Waterloo Region three years ago.
Mukenge said integration has been a success at St. Aloysius, where 36 per cent of students speak 19 languages.
Maedith Radlein, vice-principal at Courtland Public School in Kitchener, said school curriculum and the classroom environment must validate peoples' identities and experiences.
Radlein said Dei's approach may seem radical, but black youth need an environment where their achievements are highlighted.
"It's a tough issue," said Radlein, who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 1987 with two young boys.
"I don't know if there are right answers.''
Copyright (c) 2005 The Record. All Rights Reserved. 02/09/05
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